New Games

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• Catch the first episode of Video Game High School
• Creator of IWBTG is making a Castlevania-esque platformer
• Preview: Way of the Samurai 4
• Last chance to get Destructoid shirts for $5!
• Feast of Fiction proves that the cake is *sigh* not a lie
• Mr. Destructoid comes to Super Monday Night Combat!

Catch the first episode of Video Game High School Posted: 13 May 2012 02:00 PM PDT Subscribers to the FreddieW YouTube channel might have heard mention of a massive movie / web series project underway called Video Game High School. Produced by Rocket Jump, a coalition founded by Freddie Wong and Brandon Laatsch of FreddieW, Matt Arnold, and Desmond Dolly, Video Game High School promised to be a culmination of all the team's individual talents and expertise over the years. After much hype, the very first episode has launched. Split into nine parts, the full film is two hours long and follows the journey of BrianD, an amateur FPS player who gets invited to the prestigious Video Game High School after taking out the best gamer on the planet during a match. Over the course of the series, we'll see a bunch of special effects wizardry, a goofy bully who wears paper 3D glasses like Zeke from Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and a hard-ass principal played by Epic Meal Time's Harley Morenstein. One episode in, it's clear that the story of VGHS is littered with plenty of the same cliches we've seen in Hollywood interpretations of gamer culture. Still, knowing the talent behind the show, I'm sure we'll be pleasantly surprised as the show progresses. VGHS - EPISODE 1 [Rocket Jump]

Creator of IWBTG is making a Castlevania-esque platformer Posted: 13 May 2012 12:00 PM PDT Remember I Wanna Be The Guy? Oh God, the memories haunt me to this day! Thankfully, creator Michael O'Reilly's newest game is not going to be as outrageously emasculating. He officially revealed it last year, but I haven't heard any outlet make mention of it since. Entitled Brave Earth: Prologue, it's an homage to old-school Castlevania, when the series was all about tight platforming and minute-to-minute challenges as opposed to wandering expansive hallways on an open-world map. According to Michael's earliest remarks, the game was supposed to be a "Metroidvania," but from the screens, it's shaping up to have more in common with the classical style. Not that I mind either way, but it'll be refreshing to go back to basics. Despite being rendered in "8-bit," the art is very detailed and the sprite animations are very fluid. I'm excited to give this one a spin, and I hope all of you can keep your eyes peeled. Brave Earth: Prologue ought to eventually appear on Steam and other services for $5. Brave Earth [Kayinworks]

Preview: Way of the Samurai 4 Posted: 13 May 2012 06:00 AM PDT The Way of the Samurai series has a cult following here in the states. The open ended gameplay and emphasis on story turned many heads back with its original release in 2002. The fourth installment of the series, coming courtesy of XSEED games, seeks to return to its roots and provide a compelling experience for newcomers and fans alike. Set during the later years of the feudal era of Japan in the port town of Amihama, players take on the role of a wandering samurai, who enters town just when tensions have reached their boiling point. Clashes between different factions -- the Japanese Shogunate, the isolationist forces of the Prajna, and foreigners from Britain -- have turned the once quiet town into a place of mayhem and chaos. After intervening in a minor conflict, the player is swept up in a quest that will decide the fate of Amihama and all those who call it home. Way of the Samurai 4 (PlayStation Network) Developer: Acquire Publisher: XSEED Games Release: Summer 2012 From the outset, the game very much emphasizes openness with its gameplay. During the first encounter, the player can make several different decisions relating to how they interact with certain characters, who you choose to backstab, and which characters should bite the dust. You can even act out your best Yojimbo fantasy and manipulate all three factions against each other to your own benefit. With 10 different endings, including one true ending, players will feel motivated to head back in for multiple replays. In true sandbox style, you can avoid the faction quests altogether and simply explore the town, meeting citizens, pick up side quests, take up fishing, gambling, and even gardening. You're even given the option to romance particular characters, which can yield its own rewards. While WOTS4 deals with some heavy themes, the game likes to lighten the mood by introducing bizarre scenarios and garish characters into the mix. One minute you could be dueling in the town cemetery, and the next you could participating in a comical water torture sequence to gain the approval of a woman you might fancy. Not exactly sure why that would work out, but the game lets you do it. It's all quirky and bizarre, but oddly humorous. Way of the Samurai is very open in its execution, and the game will take any decision you make and keep on rolling. One of the game's new features, however, might stir up some controversy. Known as "Night Crawling," your character can sneak into the house of a woman you're attempting to romance, and try to seduce and manhandle your way into their bed. All the while sneaking past their family members, and keeping quiet. All this is done with an on-screen prompt of a turtle head, which gets larger as you approach the person you're trying to romance. While this all sounds a bit creepy and slightly disturbing, it comes off more ridiculous, and over the top when you're actually doing the mini-game. The smallest decisions can have the biggest consequences, and WOTS4 seems to revel in it. For instance, the British foreigners speak a language not familiar to the player character. Siding with this particular faction can have the player invest in schools to learn new languages and customs. Speaking to past characters after the language gap will yield gifts and items, provided you helped them in some way before. Even more drastic decisions will see the game adapt just fine. I was surprised to see how quickly you can turn coat on one faction, and side with the other. The consequences of this will have characters and allies you betrayed seeking vengeance against you and your new allies. I'm quite impressed with how adaptable the game is to changing play styles, and how it even rewards you for doing so at the right moments. And what would a game with samurais be without combat? As a lone samurai in a bustling town with factions at each other's throats, you should expect to be facing the sharp end of an enemy's weapon quite often. When in combat, your character will stay locked on to single target at a time and you can utilize dodges, parrying, sweeps, kicks, and different sword stances to get the upper hand on your target. Stances work like rock-paper-scissors, in a way. Using one stances has its own strengths and weaknesses against others. During battle you'll be able to switch weapons that have their own unique feel and weight to them, which adds variety and flavor to each battle. However, as you attack and guard with a particular weapon, the durability and effectiveness will degrade. Once the weapon breaks, it'll leave you defenseless and vulnerable to enemies. For the most part, combat worked pretty well. Fighting multiple targets can be quite cumbersome, though. Since there is no dedicated target switch button, you'll have to disengage your current target, move closer to the other, and reactivate the lock-on. And yes, it functions just as awkward as it sounds, and isn't very conducive to staying focused during battle. While Way of The Samurai 4 is primarily a single-player title, Acquire has taken cues from other single-player action-RPGs with online features, and implemented a persistent online mode. Players can upload their created characters and send them out online to other player's games. When online, your character can encounter assassins created from other players that will confront you randomly. Defeating these characters will gain all the loot and custom weapons they carried. This offers a great risk/reward aspect to these and you'll likely encounter characters who have advanced and rare weapons, giving a very small window to make your move. Fans of the series should be excited to see gets their hands on this new entry, and newcomers with a liking for action games in a sandbox setting should keep this on their radar.

Last chance to get Destructoid shirts for $5! Posted: 13 May 2012 04:00 AM PDT TIME EXTENDED! We've left the Destructoid store open for one last month and this really is your last chance to buy a Destructoid shirt, poster, beanie or patch. For reals! In fact, EVERYTHING has been set to just $5 for the remainder of the sale. The store will be gone for good at the end of May. Anything left will be placed in a giant pile, and set on fire. Maybe. We also have Japanator and Tomopop tees for those of into our sister sites, plus some girl sizes are available too. GO!

Feast of Fiction proves that the cake is *sigh* not a lie Posted: 13 May 2012 01:00 AM PDT Gaaaaaaaaaah! Another Portal cake reference! Kill it with fire! Kidding! I can't stay mad at Jimmy and Ashley. They pull off such magical feats week after week, concocting delicious delicacies that tantalize my taste buds. Besides, are you really going to say no to chocolate cake? Really? REALLY!? In any case, Portal actually gives you the cake recipe in-game. I call that a challenge, and Feast of Fiction has met that challenge. So suck it. Portal Cake! It's Not a Lie! Feast of Fiction Ep. 14 [YouTube]

Mr. Destructoid comes to Super Monday Night Combat! Posted: 12 May 2012 02:00 AM PDT That's right, kids. Mr. Destructoid has arrived in Super Monday Night Combat! We've teamed up with the bacon-loving maniacs at Uber Entertainment to give the game a sexplosion the only way Destructoid can. The Mr. Destructoid Uniform is a special outfit for Karl, the robot pro who thinks he's a human. To get the uniform, just head on over to our redeem page and claim your code. We're giving away 25,000 of the Mr. Destructoid Uniforms and this is the only way you can get the outfit! Once you've received your code, launch Super Monday Night Combat, click on the Store link, and then click "Redeem a Code!" It'll unlock the outfit with mix-and-match parts for both Hotshots and Icemen team variants. And in case you completely missed it, Super Monday Night Combat is a free-to-play game. Meaning you can download it right now and play for free! Be sure to join us on Destructoid.TV tonight -- King Foom and the crew will be rampaging through Super MNC as Mr. Destructoid on Mash Tactics starting at 4 PM PDT. We'll be playing against the developers, and Executive Producer Chandana Ekanayake and Lead Designer John Comes will be on the show live, chatting with everyone!

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